AI-powered ‘Bholu Mini’ & ‘Bholu Max’ to help rly passengers with enquiries

Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) has launched two new artificial intelligence-based passenger help systems, ‘Bholu Mini' and ‘Bholu Max', in a step towards modernising railway enquiry services. The smart assistants were officially demonstrated on Friday at Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad, in the presence of SCR general manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, Hyderabad divisional railway manager Santosh Kumar Verma and senior railway officials.The new systems have been introduced on a trial basis at two stations in the Hyderabad division. ‘Bholu Mini' has been installed at Malkajgiri railway station, while the more advanced ‘Bholu Max' has been deployed at Kacheguda railway station. Both systems were conceptualised, designed and developed in-house, including software coding, by Dr Anirudh Pamar, senior divisional commercial manager of Hyderabad division.‘Bholu Mini' is a voice-based AI kiosk designed especially for local commuters who prefer Telugu. Passengers can activate it simply by saying "Hello" and ask for train timings, platform numbers, station facilities, and other travel-related information.‘Bholu Max', installed at Kacheguda, is a more advanced passenger assistance kiosk that combines voice support with a touchscreen system. It supports 12 Indian languages, allowing travellers from different regions to access information easily.